Swift Hometime

The policy: send your home time request in a minimum of 2 weeks before you wish to be home and swift will do their best to get you there SOMETIME on the date you request. (Could be anywhere between 00:01 to 12:59 of that day).

The reality: You send that home time date in and swift will TRY to get you a load going there sometime within 2-3 days of that date.

Swift is a large company with loads constantly moving all over the place, if you live in a high volume freight area, chances are pretty good you'll get there near when you want, if freight is slow in your areas, not so much, but its never been more than a few days wait for me. That being said... This is trucking, freight comes first, they got a load that needs to be there, unwritten rule is, home time can wait.

 

Hey Dracon my son just started running solo with Swift on dedicated regional 7 weeks ago. Does Swift have a policy about how much hometime you can accumulate before they want you to take it? Thanks

 

Home time is 1 day off for every 7 out. Minimum 2 weeks out, that gives 2 days off. Generally I stay out for 4 weeks, this gives me 4 days at home. If I get stuck out on the road an extra week because of weak freight,I still stay home for only 4 days Because at 5 days home, I have to turn in my truck, and may or may not get the same truck when I go back out. From what I've heard and seen, this varies from terminal to terminal, but for me, the cutoff is 4 days.
I've had the same truck for 2 years now, she getting old and tired, but all my stuff is in there, and I know how shes feelin just by the way she sounds. I'm NOT ready to give her up and move into something different.

 

You can stay out as long as you want. I've worked up to 2 months at times. But, as dracon said, you gotta turn in the truck. And good luck getting one when you come back. Once I waited 2 weeks, another time I waited 4 days. Hence why I'm no longer employed by Swift

 

Well, if you take a long home time you really can't expect them to have a truck sitting that long.

And if you take a long enough home time to require turning in your truck, you should realize you will be put on the list to get another one.
You will wait for an available truck, not visa versa.

 

A question please... If you stay out for all that time making them the money for all that time... Why WOULDN'T you expect that same truck to be waiting for you??? If someone else can go out for 3 weeks and take 3 days off and still have their truck waiting then go back out for 3 more weeks and take 3 more days off, tell me what's the actual differance if you worked 6 weeks and took 6 days off??? It's still sitting for the same amount of time and earning money for the same amount of days!!!

Sounds like someone at Swift has figured a way to blow more smoke up the drivers ***!!!

This is of course just my opinion and since i don't work there it doesn't really affect me but same is same to me!!!

 

im either looking into going to swifts school or im going with central ref. just a quick question about this slip seating. if i go oout for 3 weeks and im home 3 days will my truck get given to another driver? or is that only if im staying home for like 5 or more days right?

 

Take it to the extreme.

You work for a year straight, then take 7 weeks off.
Should you be able to keep the truck out of service for that long?

Thing is, it is not your truck. It is Swift's truck.
As such, they have a legitimate right to dictate how it is used.
If they put a limit on how long it can sit idle before reassigning it, it is their right and privilege to do so.